Wall plug



Sept. 9, 1952 GIBSON 2,610,013

WALL PLUG Filed Jan. 13. 1949 rlnl BNVENTOR H M D. GIBSON c, my M Patented Sept. 9, 1952 I v2.610.013 I l; A 1

WALL PLUG 1 Marshall D. Gibson, WCDSCBPGI'OVES, Mo.

Abpuc nonianu ry 13,1949;se1f al=No. 70,647 I times difficult to attache. hook. nail, screw; or

the like to a hollow' wall formed of'sucli material as plasterboard, or wall board, which are not well adapted to retain nailsor hooks, etc.

Heretofore wall lugs have been so formed that they will act as receivers for "such supporting nailsforhooks, and on March 12, 1946, United States'Letters Patent No. 2,396,501 for a Wall Plug were granted to me onthis type of'plug. My present invention is an improvement on saidPatent 2,396,501 in that mynew plug will itself provide a hook froin'whichfan article may" be susen ed,- thusrendering unnecessary theinsertion of aseparate hook, or nail, or the like into the. plug to support an article after 'theplug has been applied to a wall. I

' Plugs as heretofore manufactured generally havebeen ofhollow tubular construction, but the. expanding portionof my plug is formed of substantially flat members which can be stamped out, or cutfrom' small pieces of metalj and for. this-purpose scrap metal may beused, thus per-j mitting a considerable saving in time, material, and cost of production.

' Inthe drawings: j "Fig. '1 is an end view of my wall plug as it appears when inserted into a wall preparatory to being expanded.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the wall plug shown in Fig. 1. ,Figp3 is aside elevation ofthe wall plug as it appears in expanded condition attached to a wall, with its hook in operative position.

Fig. 4 illustrates a modification of the hook element of my wall plug. I I

Fig. 5 is a view taken onfline 5-5 of Figl i.

Fig. 6 illustrates the modified wall plug insertedthrough a wall preparatory to being ex panded. e

I Fig. 17 illustrates said modification of the invention in expanded condition on a wall and with the hook element in operative position.

In both the preferred form of the invention and the modification, the wall plug comprises a body portion integrally formed of a strip of suitable metal bent into elongated U-shape, and having a pair of legs I joined together by a comparatively short connecting section 2. At the center of the connecting section 2 an aperture 3 is punched out, the walls of said aperture 3 being provided with screwthreads 4. As will be iClaim. (o1. us -225) obvious froln l 'igsf2 and 6, the legs I have-asli-ght transverse curvature and are slightly embossed outwardlyat thepoints 5 to weaken-said legs- I I Atpoints somewhat spaced away'from theem bossed portions 5, thelegs I are slightly reduced in diameter to form offsets (not shown in the drawings) anda collar 6 surrounds the reduced portions and abuts against said offsets at the points I. The-ends 8 and 9 ofthe legs I project through said collar 6.

In the preferred-form of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the end 8 is considerably elongated and the end 9compar'atively short, and both endsBf and Bare bentbackagainst the 001- Law 6 at right angles with relation to the legs I, as shown in Figs. 1 and2. From what has been said it will be understood that the collar 6 is retained' i'n position by the offsets 1 and the bent back ends 8 and 9. A washer IIlrests against the free outer surface. of the ends 8 and 9, said washer being of slightly concave form sothat its outer'edge will firmly grip the ends 8 ands when the device is in operation. In operation of the preferred. form of themvention, the procedure is as follows: 'Onjeitheii' side of the aperture 3 a transverse bend ismade in the metal strip formingfihe body of the wall plug at "a slight distance from said aperture, so. that the, strip assumes the elongated U-shape' shown in Figs. 2 and 6. A collar'ii is slipped over. the freeends 8 and 9 until its abuts the offsets at thepoints 1, after which the ends 8 and Bare bent back against the collar 6 until they'are at right angles with respect to the legs I of the plug.

With the parts in this position, the plug is inserted through a hole'which has been preparedforits reception in awallW, the hole in said wall being of such diameter that the collar 6 will fit rather snugly therein. The ends 8 and 9 now rest against the outer surface of said wall, and the collar 6' lies within the wall, whilethe body portion of the plugcomprisingthe legsyl; projects beyond the interior surface of the wall (Fig. 2). The washer I0 is positioned against the ends 8 and 9 so that its aperture i in registration with the space between the legs I, and an ordinary screw S of appropriate diameter and length is inserted through said aperture and between the legs I, and into the aperture 3 where its screwthreads engage the threads 4 of the aperture 3.

The plug is now ready to be expanded, and this is accomplished by institution screwing move- 3 ment to the head of the screw S with an ordinary screwdriver, and while this is being done the operator keeps the plug from turning by holding the long end 8 with one hand while manipulating the screwdriver with the other hand. As the threaded portion of the screw progresses through the threaded aperture 3, the connecting section 2 of the plug moves up toward the head of the screw, thus forcing the legs I to bend outwardly at their weakened embossed points 5. The screwing motion is continued until the legs I have been bent so that the sections I I face of the wall W (Fig. 3), and the ends 8 and firmly grip its exterior surface.

With the plug aihxed to the .wall'as described above, the end 8 is now bent upwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, to provide a hook I2 from which an article may be suspended against the wall, and .as said above, this renders unnecessary the use of aseparate hook or nail, since thehook I2 forms an integral part of the wall plugstructure. By.

referring to Fig. 1 it will be noted thatthe end 8 is provided with two apertures I3 and I4, re-

spectively. Should it be desired not to utilize the long end 8 as a hook, said end is sufliciently weakened bythe aperture I3 to "permit of its beingbroken off. at that point, in which case. it'

will not extend beyond the washer I0. However,

when the end 8 is used to provide the hookII2,

the aperture I4 serves to weaken said'fend at thatpoint sufiiciently to permit its' being bent upwardly to form the hook.

. In the modified form of the invention'the ends of the' legs I which project throughthe collar as shown most clearly in Fig. 4, and has two apertures I3 and I4, respectively, similar to the apertures I3 and I4.of the preferred form.

In the use of the'modified form of the inven tion'the procedure is as follows: With theparts of the plug in the position asdescribedin con'-' nection with the preferred form, the plug is passed through a hole preparedfor it inthe wall W, with'portions of the legs I projecting through the collar 6 and beyond the wall W, said project:

ing portions being bent back upon the wall as shown at I. The element I5 is held against said wall so that the projecting ends I lie within the embossed sectionI'I thereof, the legends I" having been cut off so that they areflush' with the perimeter of said element It. The screw Sis passed through the apertureIS of said ele-,

ment I5 and between the legs I, and it"will be understood that at this time the body of the plug withfthe screw therein is positioned within 4 the wall W in the same manner as described in connection with the preferred form.

With the element I5 resting against the outer surface of the wall and its embossed section enclosing the leg ends I, said element is held in position by pressure of one hand of the operator on said embossed section. Screwing motion of 'the screw S is then instituted, and obviously this motion cannot be transmitted to the plug by virtue of theengagement of its 'legf ends l with the firmly held embossed section I! of-the element I5. The screwing operation is continued th e f Contact and firml grip the interior up-5 2.3.5 described in connection with the preferred ,.form, until the expanded plug has assumed the position shown in Fig. 7. As shown in this flg-- ure, thearm I9, if it is to be utilized as a hook, is bent upwardly at the aperture I4 to form the *hook I2, but if preferred it may be broken off at theaperture I3.

V The modified form of the invention is now in operative position, where it wil1,serve the same purpose as the preferred form illustrated in'l 'ig 3g flclaimfll v In: am edwairpiiigjh mg alongitudinal memberfb'ent intermediate its ends" to form expan'si'oln' strips adapted'for" entry in'awall open-.

ing, a sleevesurroundingsaid expansionstrips near but spaced from their'free ends, said free ends being bent outwardly at right angles to' said sleeve and against the outer'face of the wall,.the expansion, strips being weakened at predeter mined points solthat'they will bulgeoutwardly against the under/ face of the w all when expanding pressure is applied to the intermediate bent portion of saidlongitudinal memben and.

a screw'forapplying said pressure positioned be tween. longitudinal sectiohsof said longitudinal member and threaded in said intermediate bent portion, the improvement comprising means for preventing turning of said longitudinalmember when said screw is turned, saidmeans comprising an apertured washer positioned between the head of the screw and the outwardly bent portions of said longitudinal member, said washer having a centralembossed portion and a depend-.

ing lug formed integral. therewith, said embossed portion enclosing andinterlooking with the outwardly bent portions of the longitudinal member, said lug having a weakened section to permit ready severance of the lug at the weakened sectioni'.

REFERENCES CITED 'lhe following references are file ofthis patent-zj.,..

fU'NITED s ATEs PATENTS;

' MARSHALL D, eiigsenjy of record 'G ibson, 1 Mar, 12,1945 

